Marty Meany is the founder at goosed.ie, a consumer technology and entertainment news site covering new tech, TV shows and movies.
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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?
I’m the founder and editor of Goosed.ie It’s a consumer electronics and tech review website. We also review movies and TV shows. Our goal is to land content in front of people organically when they search in Google, in turn promoting products worthy of purchase.
It all started out when I worked in a phone shop. People were coming in with the same questions every day. Some of them even said they Googled their problems and couldn’t find the answers. I went home, bought a domain, some hosting and started the site. I’ve always worked in sales but studied History in college.
Today, I’m a mishmash of being trained to research and make a point, but also with sales in mind.
2) What does a day in your life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?
My workday is never set in stone. I have other projects that require a stricter calendar so running Goosed fits in around most of my other tasks. I like to change things up so that can mean heading to the local cafe for an hour to answer emails or start writing an article.
I also take lots of walks, using these bits of exercise to shoot some product shots for upcoming reviews or to test our cameras on smartphones. Some evenings can be late, but honestly it’s only if I’m feeling it. If I’m tired or feeling run down I’m strict with myself and do step away from the work.
3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?
Yep. It has to. You can’t work 9-5 when Google or Apple decides to launch a new phone at 6pm! Working from different places also keeps things fresh.
Now that things are reopening, I love grabbing a coffee and popping my laptop onto WiFi to get some work done. The buzz of cafes gives me energy. Also, European travel being back is making me think more about the cafes beyond Ireland!
4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?
Work-life balance is all about my happiness. Because I have so many projects at the same time, I do work quite a lot sometimes. I say work, but if I’m at my laptop at 8pm it’s because I genuinely like it.
I’m not a supporter of the “hustle” culture, but I’m also not a big fan of the 9-5 idea. As much as my projects allow, I work when my energy lets me do my best work. That might mean two days away from writing followed by marathon days.
It’s never deadline driven for me though and I think that’s key. Once I’m keeping my happiness levels in the right place, I don’t really care all that much about the hours spent at my laptop.
5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?
I’ve started going to the gym in a big way and this massively improved my mental health. Of course, my physical health has improved too, but mentally I’m much stronger.
The funny thing is that I thought I was always really happy. I was in a bad routine because of lockdown though. Falling out of bed five minutes before a meeting in the morning, staying up really late to catch up.
The gym at 8am means I start my day by achieving something and I’m energised for the rest of the day. I’m also tracking my food a lot so I’m cooking more and more. Like everyone after the past 18-months!
I’ve also deleted WhatsApp and Facebook. I moved to Signal and kept Instagram. I find myself being annoyed less and less by my phone when I do things like this. I also love Apple’s new Focus Mode for this very reason. I’ve taken control back over my phone.
6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?
In terms of books, I absolutely recommend Product Led SEO by Eli Schwartz. Organic search is a big part of what I do and this book is probably one of the best approaches on the market right now.
Regardless of whether you’re starting out in SEO, have years of experience or have nothing to do with it at all. I used to stay up to date with lots of industry news through podcasts and newsletters but I mainly use them for entertainment and to wind down or get to sleep.
The Blindboy Podcast is a personal favourite. It’s got massive Irish appeal but also has listeners around the world. Finally, as a publisher, I have to recommend Barry Adams’ SEO for Google News newsletter. A must have.
7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?
I have a silly amount of tech that I use in my daily life, but I find this question interesting because I could live without most of it. If I take that question literally, I guess it’s my iPad. If I had to pick only having my laptop, phone or iPad, at least my iPad can do everything – as much as I’d hate to be that guy taking pictures with my iPad at concerts!
But in all honesty, 99% of tech and gadgets are “nice to haves”. My Fitbit gives me wellbeing info. My phone keeps me connected, lets me track food, take pictures and communicate. I work on my laptop. I track important stuff with my AirTags. But could I live without most of these things? Absolutely.
I take an odd angle here because Goosed is all about recommending the best tech for people but not everyone needs every gadget. It’s a really personal thing. There’s nothing worse than buying a piece of tech and hating it.
I will give a special mention to my Bose noise cancelling headphones. I bought them years ago but they’re great. I’d really struggle without them.
8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?
There are some creators on Instagram like Gadgets Boy and James Smith PT. Many creators fall into the “influencer” category and people immediately dismiss the amount of work these people do.
They’re balancing books, managing relationships, creating content and steering strategy, usually all on their own. They deserve a lot more respect than they get for the work they do. I’d love to know more about how they balance it all out.
9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?
A lot of people will tell their bosses that they’re under pressure or finding it hard to switch off. Particularly now where remote working is so common. But you are the only person who can close your laptop and go for a walk or spend time with family.
Don’t look at life in years, look at it in moments. How many moments are going to happen because you worked late on something that could have really waited until tomorrow. Go out and recharge. Everyone benefits from that.
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